Location

Booking Fee

Rachel Botsman

World Renowned Expert on Technology and Trust & Author of “What’s Mine Is Yours”

Rachel Botsman is the global authority on the power of collaboration and trust enabled by digital technologies to change the way we live, work, bank and consume.

Botsman and the concept of collaborative consumption – coined by Botsman in her seminal book, “What’s Mine Is Yours” (HarperBusiness, 2010), and recognized by TIME as one of the 10 Ideas That Will Change the World and by Thinkers50 as the 2015 Breakthrough Idea – continue to change the way we think about business forever. Highly regarded for her stimulating presentations, provocative writing, and engaging and smart teaching, she is sought by entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, business school professors and business leaders alike for her expertise and forward-focused insights. Recognized as one of the world’s top 20 speakers to keynote your conference, her TED talks have been viewed more than two million times. In 2015, she designed the world’s first M.B.A. course on the collaborative economy, which she teaches at Oxford University’s Saïd School of Business.

Named a “Young Global Leader” by World Economic Forum and one of the “Most Creative People in Business” by Fast Company, Botsman examines the growth and challenges of start-ups such as Airbnb, TaskRabbit and Uber, with a focus on technology’s impact on trust and relationships. Combining research and historical knowledge with strategic intuition and foresight, she discerns threads and patterns that provide context for how and why the world is changing and the broader implications of this new economy.
Botsman is a regular writer and commentator in leading international publications including, The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, The Economist, The New York Times and The Guardian. She is also a contributing editor for Wired and writes a monthly column for the Australian Financial Review, which explores the mindset of entrepreneurs who see the world differently.

She received her B.F.A (Hons) from the University of Oxford and attended Harvard University for her post-graduate studies.

Speech Topics

The Collaborative Economy: A Transformative Lens, Not A Start-Up Trend

The collaborative economy is creating entirely new ways of doing business that are significantly impacting the way we live, work, bank and consume. But what exactly is the connection between seemingly different ideas such as social lending, peer-to-peer accommodation, car sharing and ride sharing? Rachel Botsman, who originally coined the concept of collaborative consumption (named by TIME as one of the “10 Ideas that will Change the World”) in her seminal book, explains the key principles behind why business models and behaviors are being transformed across sectors.

Botsman takes audiences deep inside the ventures that are challenging the status quo – from Airbnb to Lyft; TaskRabbit to Transferwise – and identifies the five common drivers that make a sector ripe for change. She also demonstrates how large companies, including BMW, Marriott, GM and DHL, are starting to respond to profound shifts in attitudes toward trust, assets and ownership.Botsman leaves audiences inspired by the scale and speed of growth in the collaborative economy, and also provides clear insights on how organizations can respond to some of the most revolutionary changes we have seen in business and society in centuries.

The Changing Rules of Trust

How do you build trust with someone you have never met? Digital technologies are changing the speed and nature of how trust is built and destroyed, giving rise to new business models and behaviors. Airbnb, Tinder and Uber are just a handful of examples of how new trust mechanisms are enabling us to become comfortable with people, experiences and ideas we might never have otherwise considered. Rachel Botsman explores how trust is shifting from institutions to individuals, and discusses its profound business and social implications. She delves into the upside of this new world and how it will add value to people’s lives, as well as the thorny issues of privacy, identity and risk.

The Future of ‘Work’

The collaborative economy is creating revolutionary changes in business and society, producing new jobs and tearing up old ones. Companies such as Airbnb, Etsy, TaskRabbit and Uber have the potential to make a new generation of “micro-entrepreneurs,” changing how people can use their time, skills and talents. But what are the benefits – and the downsides – to these new types of independent ‘jobs’? How are collaborative businesses in tune with the way an increasing number of people want to lead their lives and earn income? Rachel Botsman explores these questions, and addresses the wider implications of the collaborative economy and the future of work.

Sharing Cities: Transforming How We Live, Work and Consume

What if cities actively embraced the principles of collaboration and sharing? Rachel Botsman asserts that the ‘Shared City’ has the potential to change the nature of how we live, work, play, and consume in cities. Using examples from around the world, she challenges participants to think differently, exploring how cities are starting to embrace collaborative principles to address social issues, helping achieve sustainable goals and preparing for a different future of work. She also discusses why the collaborative/sharing economy is not a technology trend, but a powerful lens to think differently about efficiency, trust and human connection.

On The Money: The Future of Finance

How can technology transform money, banking and finance? Rachel Botsman offers a clear view of the fundamental changes in how we interact with money, both in terms of value and trust. From discussing crowdfunding to mobile money to virtual currencies to new payment systems, she takes audiences inside cutting-edge start-ups from across the globe, connecting the dots on the shifts, tools and risks that are rapidly disrupting the financial sector.